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Journalism of Courage
In a recent podcast interview, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that he has been driving a Xiaomi electric vehicle for the past six months. The model in question is the SU7 sedan, Xiaomi’s first electric car that starts from $30,000 and looks similar to the Porsche Panamera.
During the “I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi. We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now and I don’t want to give it up”, Farley added.
Farley did not mention which version of the SU7 he imported, but Xiaomi claims that the top model features an 800-volt architecture similar to the Tesla Cybertruck and offers a range of anywhere between 700 and 900 kilometres depending on the trim level you choose.
Chinese companies have been able to make cheap electric cars with help from the government’s EV-friendly policies, but the Xiaomi SU7 isn’t available for purchase in the United States because of geopolitical issues. While it may seem off that the CEO of an automaker is driving a car from another brand, Farley says that “specs can tell part of a story, but you’ve got to get behind the wheel to truly understand and beat the competition.”
However, some don’t seem to agree with Farley’s statement. In a recent statement to National Review, Jason Isaac, the head of the American Energy Institute took a jab at the Fordd executive and said that “Jim Farley’s recent admission that he drives a Chinese-made electric vehicle is a slap in the face to the thousands of hardworking employees at Ford Motor Company.”
